The photo, above, includes on the far left, the STEM Rules publisher and co-founder, Seni Hazzan, and on the far right, Frank McCoy, STEMRules co-founder and Executive Producer. The five cyber security professionals, in the middle, spoke to students and are profiled below.

STEMRules presented professionals, working for public, private, and nonprofit organizations, who investigate, analyze and thwart cyber vandals . They are also committed to expanding opportunities for underrepresented group members to help fill the pipeline for the estimated one million new IT security jobs that will be created by 2018.

The STEMRules black, Hispanic, Native, and Women of Color digital defenders include a Fortune 500 financial institution executive, entrepreneurs, a cyber defense tester, specialists at the Justice, and Treasury Departments, and the founder of a national cyber security organization for women.

STEMRules thanks The Mitre Corporation, Booz Allen Hamilton, McGlobal Tech, the International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the US Department of Justice, the Women’s Society of CyberJutsu, and CapitalOne for their assistance in making this gallery, and the STEMRules event, possible.

Note: Each professional lists in their profile what they attend, view, read, and listen to stay sharp in CySec and related sectors.

Woods is a busy professional. She is an executive at a Fortune 500 financial institution that she won’t disclose, a board member of multiple nonprofits, and the executive director of the International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals. It seeks to create a pipeline of diverse cyber security talent. She also advocates to deter human trafficking and child exploitation in cyberspace. Follow at @vedatwoods.

At her firm, she fosters information sharing to identify, validate, and address cyber security needs. Woods also uses best practices in cyber research and policy to support strategy on national, and local, security and resilience projects.

Woods says that, “STEM is the foundation of our way of life and fundamental to human sustainability and technological innovation, and cyber security is a driver to manage risk which threatens to constrain innovation and growth.”

At heart, Woods who has an MS in Information Assurance from Norwich University, is a tech gadget maven—loving functional and stylish devices–and a Lego enthusiast. She also has a Graduate Certificate in Public Health Informatics from the University of Maryland College Park

The admitted “fitness and health nut,” has one regret about studying STEM. She never indulged a passion for the arts or pursued it further.

From 2009 until 2015, Woods was the Chief Information Security Officer and Deputy CIO of the US Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (RATB) until it shut down. The RATB was the agency that managed Recovery.gov. It provided access to data related to Recovery Act spending and allowed the reporting of potential fraud, waste, and abuse.

Leisure activity: Music and more music; relaxing at home or at a weekend getaway; reading a favorite novel or watching a documentary, strength training, and traveling.

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William McBorrough Is a Cyber Defender

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McBorrough, a second-generation engineer says he never considered another discipline. At George Mason University (GMU), he began in electrical engineering but graduated with a BS in Computer Engineering – Digital Networks, and a keen interest in network security.

The founder and Managing Director of Washington, DC-based McGlobalTech, McBorrough says he is an information security and risk management consultant. His firm helps clients build and apply programs, processes, and technology to protect systems, and customers, from data breaches.

A career surprise, McBorrough says, has been observing “the disconnect between what students are taught in academic programs and what skills are in demand in the workforce.”

He says it is critical to prepare the next cyber workforce, as the stakes are so high for US security, economy, and citizens.

His geekiest and non-geekiest habit is the same: he’s a gym rat, and for five-days-a-week for 20 years has worked out, often while often while listening to a fantasy audio book.

McBorrough also has received another degree from GMU, his MS in Information Security and Assurance. He is an active mentor, and cyber security speaker. Since 2007 he has also taught cyber security classes at various schools including the University of Maryland University College currently.

McBorrough’s tips: He regrets not taking more business management classes. “I have contemplated going back to school for an MBA but there aren’t enough hours in the day for that now,” he says.

Alexander’s path to choosing a STEM major and becoming a STEM professional needs the coining of a new word. A quintrafecta: the use of five-related approaches to reach a desired destination.

He was a Lego fanatic as a kid, disassembled things, aced AP middle school science, tinkered with computers in high school, and after graduation landed his first technology job.

Alexander is a Senior Cyber Security Engineer at The MITRE Corporation. The nonprofit runs multiple federally-funded research and development centers.

His responsibilities include securing Cyber Physical Systems–the integration of computation, networking, and physical processes–specifically in the energy sector but also in manufacturing, and medical devices. Alexander also researches and implements secure architectures and adversarial tactics and techniques.

Full geek mode is part of, but not all, Alexander’s life. His living room has a whiteboard however. He can also connect quotes or scenes from the show “South Park” to what occurs in any episode, and he tracks his sleep cycles with a wearable that has a bioimpedance sensor.

On the flip side, Alexander, a Washington state native, is an avid snowboarder traveling home to carve snow there or at Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia.

Alexander has also mentored high school summer interns at MITRE, and participated in outreach events to expose young people to STEM. And do so again is a goal.

He received a BS and an MS in Computer Science and Systems from the University of Washington, and an AS in Computer Science from Tacoma Community College.

Podcast: I listen to “The Joe Rogan Experience” every once in a while. His tendency toward conspiracy theories amuses me.

Video game: I don’t really play video games but I had a short addiction to “Plague”.

Dream job: Urban farm architect/engineer. I’m talking about automated farming in the city on a massive scale.

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Pamela E. Carbajal’s Curiosity Led to Her Profession

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Carbajal says her inquisitiveness about all things tech began in childhood, and drew her to computers and electronics. Then cyber security and its active role as a technology defender focused her attention and commitment.

At Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), a global management and technology consulting and engineering services firm, Carbajal is on the front lines. In her job, as a Cyber Security Compliance and Policy Analyst, Senior Consultant, she provides direct support to the US Navy-Littoral Combat Ships program.

Carbajal says her tech-driven and –dependent generation has witnessed near-constant cyber attacks, which showed her “that what I do in cyber is positive and a piece of the full spectrum in creating a safe, reliable trustworthy Internet where knowledge can be shared.”

While her natural geek bent is to want to learn all things tech, and particularly in the IT, cyber, and graphics fields, Carbajal’s life is balanced by loving all music genres.

The holder of an MS in Cyber Security from Marymount University helps to prepare would-be tech and cyber security professionals through sharing her experience, concerns, and opinions. Carbajal received her BA in Technical and Scientific Communication from James Madison University.

Carbajal‘s personal goal is to earn one or two certifications annually. As a “visual and audio learner,” she prepares for testing by watching videos and visual graphics, and takes advantage of free resources.

Leisure activity: Watching sports, working out, attending live performances/concerts, being active and exploring new scenes, and Graphic Design.

Dream job: Becoming an Attorney

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Irene Suazo and Cyber Security: A Considered Match

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Suazo’s curiosity, smarts, and doing well in an internship, brought her into cyber security. Today, she is an Information Technology (IT) Specialist in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) at the US Department of the Treasury.

As a girl, in the Dominican Republic, she was introduced to IT while trying to understand her family computer’s capabilities. That led her to a BS in IT from Florida International University, and an MS in Information Systems Technology from The George Washington (GW) University.

While attending GW, her internship at the OCC led to being hired after graduation. Suazo is part of a team, monitoring the network and systems for security and compliance risks.

Know that a cyber security certification may not be a must-have, but it shows potential employers what you know. Consider the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) one of the most respected certifications.

Favorites:

App(s): Functional apps such as Amazon, airline apps, WhatsApp to keep in touch, Kindle, Pandora, YouTube, Pinterest for entertainment, and CNN for world news.

Book: “I was the farthest thing from an avid reader, until I read ‘Angels & Demons’ the summer I graduated from high school. It’s the book the showed me that I can enjoy reading.”

Benallie, in his consultancy, works on confidential and sensitive computer forensic, electronic discovery, malware analysis, and network security matters for private and public entities, state, tribal, federal, and foreign government, clients.

In his private life, he collaborates on problem-solving on behalf of Native Americans and other Indigenous peoples. In September 2016, Benallie travelled, with other Northern Arizona tribal members, to the Sacred Stone Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, in North Dakota, to protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Since 2013, he has been the Chief Information Security Officer for the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Board.

From 2005 – 2012, Benallie, who rose to Director, Computer Forensics from Senior Computer Forensics Investigator, worked on over 400 computer forensic, electronic discovery, and network security cases for Lightstone Solutions. It is a computer forensics, research and private investigations firm.

In 2011, the SANS Institute, a cooperative research and education group, awarded Benallie with the SANS Lethal Forensicator Coin. It is given to individuals who “demonstrate exceptional talent, contributions, or helps to lead in the digital forensics profession and community.

Benallie has also been an EnCase® Certified Examiner since 2009. The EnCase® is one of the most difficult-to-obtain certifications, and Benallie, of Navajo and Hopi descent, is the first and only Native American to hold that credential.

He is also co-founder of For the People. It is an Indigenous grassroots movement to collect and distribute food and clothing victims of floods and fires in Navajo Territory

From 1998-1991, studied at the Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, NJ.

When not working, Benallie can listen to beautiful, and insightful music, sung by his wife, Radmilla Cody, a renowned performer and a former Miss Navajo Nation who is of Navajo and African American descent. Watch her videos.

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Sean Chung Was a Grey Hat. Now He’s on Team MITRE

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Chung was unfamiliar with STEM, until as a University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH) student he opened a MySpace account. “I began editing the HTML, and things, and realized I liked code,” he says.

The recipient of a BS in Computer Science was also introduced to cyber security. He joined the UH Grey Hats club, where students assumed black hat and white hat roles to analyze cyber defenses.

Now, Chung, a Senior Cyber Security Engineer at The MITRE Corporation, tests and evaluates the cyber defenses of government agencies. MITRE is a nonprofit that operates multiple federally funded research and development centers.

He says, “I have fun being on the MITRE [penetration testing] team, but it’s not like on [the TV show] ‘Mr. Robot’, I was surprised by the amount of non-tech stuff that also happens.”

Chung says the geeky thing about him is that he prefers to stay at home rather than going out with friends. He also lifts weights, and has been jogging semi-consistently.

Chung earned his MS in Computer Science and Systems at the University of Washington, and worked as an IT intern with Washington state’s Snoqualmie Tribe. The internship was part of the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program, which supported his living expenses. Chung is currently pursuing an MS in Systems Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University.

Chung’s tips: Learn to communicate effectively and translate technical work into benefits and costs for clients. If interested in management, obtain business skills, and acquire broad knowledge to assist decision makers.

Dream job: I like doing what I do now. What’s next doesn’t matter as long as it is similar.

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Samantha Hoang Digs Until an Answer is Found

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Hoang is an Information Technology Security Specialist for the US Department of Justice (DoJ), with responsibility to train and raise cyber security awareness within the federal department’s staff.

The surprises of cyber security work, she says, were the high demand for her skills and the dearth of women in the field.

The geek side of Hoang surfaces when she is confronted with a new problem. She won’t give up until the answer is found.

Reflecting on earning her BS in Electrical Computer Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University, Hoang has one regret. She never found time to study biology.

Prior to the DoJ, Hoang, an amateur photographer, had a similar position as a Small Business Administration contractor, and at the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (RATB). It managed the Recovery.gov site, and administered spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Hoang tips: To gain certifications take training classes, and consult with professionals who have passed the exams.

Jiggetts founding, in 2012, of the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu (WSC), a nonprofit dedicated to empowering women to succeed in the cyber security field, was a natural step.

The childhood geek decided to become a hacker after watching the movie, “Sneakers”. “I’ve been intrigued by the challenge of how one breaks into systems, buildings, or anything. I love when I’ve figured out something or made something work,” she says.

Jiggetts says her “aggressive drive” to learn how things function spurred her to work full-time and gain an education. While in the US Air Force, she earned an AS in Information Technology. Then she received a BS in Information Technology from the University of Maryland University College, while doing cyber security work in a federal department, as a contractor, and for a private firm. Jiggetts received her MBA in Marketing from Strayer University.

Now, besides running the WSC, she does mobile security assessments that allow her to stay current on the tech side.

During down time, Jiggetts, who is of African American and Japanese descent—hence Cyberjutsu–takes apart and rebuilds computers, loves shopping, but just for techie stuff, and wishes she had learned to do car repair.

Giving back, the WSC, which has chapters in 6 cities, created the Cyberjustu Girls Academy program. It hosts workshops that introduce girls to cybersecurity, coding, and electronics.

Venkataraman, as a child in India, never considered that she would stop cyber theft. From early on, she found math and science interesting and loved solving problems and puzzles. A critical mentality now as she tries to see that fraud is never in your wallet.

At Capital One, a major bank holding firm, Venkataraman is a Senior Manager in the Software Engineering unit, and the technology lead for the anti-money laundering investigation team. It helps uncover money laundering activities and files suspicious activity reports to the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Enforcement Network.

Venkataraman’s career path is shaped by tech’s diversity and interconnections. After receiving her MS in Computer Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, she became a Java programmer. She also worked in outsourcing, technology support and process transformation, before entering cyber security and privacy, and her current post.

Venkataraman, who also has a BS in Electrical and Communication Engineering from the University of Madras, wishe she had mastered conflict resolution while in school.

Her geekiness flourishes when reviewing her two daughters’ math assignments. She says still being able “to solve a quadratic equation without too much trouble is a way to bond, and share an aspect of myself.”

The active member of her firm’s Women in Technology group volunteers for Capital One Coders. It provides a 10-week program for kids learn and build mobile apps. A sad contrast, she says is seeing a “heartbreaking” disinterest about STEM among her daughters’ girl friends.

Venkataraman tip: Leverage what you learn in each job to enhance your future value.

Favorite:

Movies: The Matrix Trilogy.

Music: American pop, Indian Bollywood music, Classical: both Indian and Western.

Know that a cyber security certification may not be a must-have, but it shows potential employers what you know. Consider the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) one of the most respected certifications.

Sean Chung’s tips: Learn to communicate effectively and translate technical work into benefits and costs for clients. If interested in management, obtain business skills, and acquire broad knowledge to assist decision makers.